Princess
by Historicals
Summary: Based on the Royal Wedding of 2012. If you have any suggestions for historical events, leave a review or send me a private message.


Princess

William examined himself from every angle he could in front of the full-length mirror, his hands on his lapels, attempting to further smooth out the already smooth fabric. He adjusted his tie, then adjusted it again and checked his shoes. God forbid they were untied. It was not very princely to trip on a shoelace on the way down the isle.

Seated behind him in a large armchair was an old friend of the Mountbatten-Windsor family, Arthur Kirkland, England himself. Sitting in a comfortable position that would do nothing to crumple his own tuxedo. He watched the young man with some amusement, taking a delicate sip from the teacup in his hand. He replaced the cup in the saucer and moved the entire ensemble to a small table beside the chair. "You look fine William. Very handsome."

"Hm?" William turned, smoothing out his hair. "Oh, yes, thank you Arthur."

England sighed and stood, smoothing the microscopic crinkles from his own tuxedo as he moved to the young prince. "You're adjusting your clothes so much that they're a mess now. Ah, look," he examined the lapels William had been fiddling with, "you've worn the fabric down. Look at this, you've had this suit for three days…"

William watched as Arthur performed an examination, straighten and smoothing his clothes. After a couple seconds, Arthurs scolding reached a new level. "You haven't done up your cuffs!"

William watched with a slight amusement as Arthur tsked away, doing up his cuffs for him. Truth was, he had left them undone. He knew Arthur would end up doing something like this, and why stop him?

"How many princes have you suited up in here?" William asked, adjusting his sleeves now that the cuffs were done up.

Arthur gestured for him to turn, and spoke as the young prince did. "Too many to count. I also tended to the grooms of who were to marry into the British Royalty from other countries, so just count the kings I suppose. I can't remember off the top of my head." He sighed. "But I promise you that you weren't the most nervous one. Now, are you ready?" He checked his watch. "It's almost time for us to go down, the guests should be filing in soon."

William paled and swallowed. "The hall is decorated?"

"Yes."

"The reception hall too?"

"Yes."

"What about the food, is it ready?"

"Being prepared, yes. You can't prepared the food the day before. It's a longer ceremony than you think."

"What about the cake?"

"I would assume it's being iced as we speak."

"The food won't be ready in time." The prince turned back to the mirror.

"William, the food is being prepared at Buckingham Palace. If the chefs there weren't world-class, they wouldn't be cooking food for the royal wedding. Don't worry about the food."

"What if there isn't enough?"

"Do you really think that will be a problem?"

There was a pause in which William shook his head.

"Did you have a hand in the cooking?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying?"

William chuckled. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Arthur rolled his eyes and moved so that he and William were both framed in the mirror. "You look very handsome," he said again, putting his hands behind his back.

"I hope Kate thinks so."

So that's what he was worried about, not the food, or how the hall looked, or the music at the reception, he wanted to make Kate happy. Not just make her happy, impress her. "She said yes when you proposed, didn't she? I don't think you need to worry about anything, and I'm sure that this day will be perfect."

"Are you married, Arthur? Or were you?"

England furrowed his brow. "I almost was, at one point. I did my very best to prevent it."

William glanced at him in the mirror. "To who?"

England was about to answer, the decided against it and walked back to the small table and armchair, picking up his tea. "No one of importance. A man my age should not be married anyway." William frowned, trying to figure out what that meant. "It doesn't matter," said Arthur quickly, "we're not here to talk about who I may or may not have married, let's get you down to the hall." He pushed aside the curtain on the window behind the chair. "Your mother is just coming in now."

William nodded and waited as Arthur opened the door for him, then left the room. The walk to the hall was long and almost painful, for both William and Arthur. William wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling, but he knew it was some kind of excitement. Arthur simply watched him, wanting to say something comforting but unsure of exactly what to say. He had never really been sure of what to say. They entered the hall rather inconspicuously, Arthur falling line next to the other grooms men while William took his place as the groom himself. William glanced around the hall anxiously, smiling and nodding at those who met his eyes. Arthur nodded to the young man next to him.

"Harry."

"Arthur."

"Lovely day."

Harry nodded. "When will this be starting?"

"It shouldn't be long now…" Arthur check his watch, getting impatient himself.

The church bells started up, nearly everyone in the church looking up in the direction of the sound. William looked up and nodded to himself, smiling. Harry said something to the grooms man next to him. Arthur closed his eyes, taking in the sounds of the church bells. Any minute now, England would get a new princess, another heir. He heard the doors to the church open once again, a choir starting up, and all eyes turned to the four people entering.

First were two holy men, the second of whom would be performing the ceremony. He was dressed in a heavily embroidered gold robe, a bible in his hands. As was custom, William turned away to face the alter at which the priest would be standing. Harry turned with him, but glanced back as Kate entered the royal section of the hall. Arthur couldn't help himself and turned as well, catching a quick glimpse of the bride, hand in hand with her father. He turned away before anyone noticed, facing front once again, assuming the posture of the gentleman he attempted to portray daily.

"She _is_ a gem," he muttered to William, his voice barely audible over the choir.

A flicker of a smile passed over William's lips.

Kate reached the alter, her father standing beside her, and William looked over. He looked like he whispered something to her that made her smile. Young love, it warmed his heart. The rest of the accessibly began to join the choir in song as the priest set up. After a couple more minutes, the choir stopped and all attention turned to the priest.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"


End file.
